A march marking the 32nd anniversary of the military coup of General Augusto Pinochet lapsed into violence as thousands of leftist protesters clashed with riot police.
Forty nine people were detained on Sunday, the government reported. Interior Minister Francisco Vidal blamed the clashes on "just 100 to 150 infiltrators in the march."
At night, fresh violence broke out in several working class neighborhoods in Santiago, where protesters blocked traffic burning tires at a number of intersections. They disrupted power some areas by throwing chains at power lines.
PHOTO: AP
Police said at least 12 officers were injured in the night clashes as they moved to disperse the demonstrators.
Tribute to victims
In an earlier demonstration, the crowd marched 3km toward a memorial at a city cemetery to pay tribute to the victims of Pinochet's 1973-90 regime. After a few incidents in which protesters destroyed traffic signs and newsstands, violence erupted inside the cemetery, with demonstrators throwing rocks and firebombs at police.
Riot police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd. Some protesters also threw paint-filled bottles at policemen and at the presidential palace.
Police estimated the crowd at 9,000 while organizers said the actual figure was much higher. About 10,000 police officers were mobilized to try to maintain order.
The marchers carried flags of the Communist Party and other leftist groups, and pictures of Salvador Allende, the elected Marxist President toppled by Pinochet in the Sept. 11, 1973, coup. Allende committed suicide at the seat of government, which was under ground and air attack. Some marchers also waved the flags of Cuba and Venezuela, which have leftist governments.
The demonstrators chanted slogans demanding justice for the victims of Pinochet's regime and rejecting recent initiatives to pardon some military men convicted of the abuses.
Rights violators
President Ricardo Lagos recently pardoned an army officer convicted in the 1982 killing of a prominent anti-Pinochet labor leader, and has endorsed a bill -- promoted by right-wing senators -- to pardon convicted human rights violators after they have served 10 years in prison.
The socialist president, himself briefly jailed under Pinochet, has said it is his duty to strive for reconciliation among Chileans.
According to an independent report in 1990, 3,197 people were killed for political reasons under Pinochet's regime, including more than 1,000 who are still unaccounted for.
Pinochet, 89, remained at his Santiago suburban mansion, receiving several retired generals and former aides.
His spokesman, retired General Guillermo Garin, said Pinochet "is doing well in spite of the health problems we all know about."
Pinochet "made no comments, just thanked his visitors, who had to enter in small groups and remain only briefly with him, because he tires easily," Garin added.
Battling lawsuits
Pinochet has avoided being in the public's eye as he battles lawsuits stemming from the abuses of his long reign. He also faces tax evasion charges related to the secret multimillion dollar bank accounts he owns overseas, as disclosed by a US Senate investigative committee.
He has avoided trial because of frail health. He has been diagnosed with mild dementia, diabetes and arthritis. He has suffered several strokes and has a pacemaker.
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